Interpol has issued a red notice for Ghana’s former finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, following accusations that he used public office for personal gain. Ghanaian prosecutors have declared him a fugitive after he failed to appear before an anti-corruption panel.
Ofori-Atta, 65, who served from 2017 to early 2024 under the New Patriotic Party, is said to be abroad receiving medical treatment. His lawyers submitted medical records and proposed representing him in absentia, but prosecutors rejected the offer, insisting he appear in person.
A red notice is not an international arrest warrant but a request for global law enforcement agencies to locate and provisionally detain the suspect pending extradition.
Ghana’s Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, accused Ofori-Atta of causing financial losses to the state, including irregularities in a controversial national cathedral project, for which $58 million was reportedly spent without visible progress.
Though his name was briefly removed from the wanted list in February after providing a planned return date, Ofori-Atta failed to appear in March, prompting prosecutors to relist him and formally request Interpol’s assistance.
His legal team criticized the move, calling it insensitive and unlawful. “We submitted medical records in good faith,” said attorney Frank Davies. “This response is deeply unfair to a man undergoing treatment.”
Ofori-Atta has denied wrongdoing and sued the Office of the Special Prosecutor for defamation and mistreatment.
President John Mahama, who took office in January after defeating the NPP, has launched “Operation Recover All Loot,” a sweeping anti-corruption effort that has already received over 200 complaints tied to more than $20 billion in alleged misappropriated funds. However, Mahama has faced criticism for dropping charges against some of his political allies.